Part 9: Outsiders
"Rain? Great. . ."
Misao smirked at the sudden arrival of moisture in the air. Where did
this rain come from all of a sudden? Drops began to form, falling upon
her uncovered head.
"Oooh! I don't need to get sick again. . ." she muttered to herself.
She had been traveling for days, trying to take back routes in getting
to Tokyo. So far she had been successful, only encountering one of Matsumoto's
many groups posted along the major railways and roads. Misao hoped fervently
that Kaoru had received her last letter, letting her know she was coming.
Only within a couple hours of Tokyo, she moved as quickly as possible
through the thickness of the forest. The falling rain wasn't going to
help her journey any.
There was a strange sound coming to her ears, causing Misao to stop.
It sounded like the clash of steel, or more precisely, swords. Her head
turned to the northwest, listening intently.
"What the hell. . ." she said aloud, following the sound, her feet
treading silently. In the distance through the clearing, she saw a dark-haired
man with his sword outstretched over a wounded man with red hair --
RED HAIR?!
"Himura!" she gasped, her eyes narrowing. He needed her help, otherwise
he was toast! She jumped up into the trees, her ninja tactics in mind.
From out of nowhere, several kunai were in her hands. Upon first
sight of the standing man, she took aim and threw them toward his head.
Matsumoto turned his head at the whooshing sound of objects being
thrown at him. In just enough time, he used his sword to bat away the
oncoming kunai. It was just enough time for Kenshin to get a
safe distance away from him. Those kunai, Kenshin thought. Misao-dono?
He glanced up at the trees, but he didn't expect to see the okashira
of the Oniwa Banshuu. She was a ninja after all. Matsumoto turned around
to find Kenshin a short distance from him.
"Kuso. . . where the hell did those kunai come from?"
he muttered angrily. Kenshin, breathing slowly and fully, raised himself
to a full standing position. The tie holding his hair back had somehow
broken, leaving his hair completely loose. Both men were getting wet
fast, but neither cared one iota. The hidden Misao looked on from afar,
sensing this was a very serious battle.
"Hang in there, Himura. . ." she whispered.
Both men looked at each other intensely. The stares alone were enough
to kill ten men.
"So you have a friend this time, Battousai?" Matsumoto taunted. "Interesting.
. . .let's weed them out, SHALL WE?"
Once again, the wind around the two men rose quickly. This time, however,
Matsumoto sent a small "Shisoukan" blast in one direction. Misao
shrieked, falling forward from one of the trees. As she turned over,
to her surprise, she was looking at the sharp edged blade of Ryutaro
Matsumoto.
"Up," he ordered. Misao obeyed promptly, rubbing her backside from
the fall. She found herself mesmerized by his green eyes until the blade's
reflection of moonlight passed over Misao's eyes. "This way, girl."
"Matsumoto!" Kenshin spoke finally. He was irritated -- no, Kenshin
was pissed off at what had happened. "Leave her out of this. She has
nothing to do with it. . "
"You're the one that brought her in to this! You have no right to say
ANYTHING, Battousai!" He pointed an angry finger at Kenshin. "Besides,
I already spared the life of your beloved today. . ."
Misao stayed silent, listening to the two men. What was going on?,
she thought. Was this the guy Matsumoto that was causing all these problems?
She watched Kenshin's expression darken swiftly at the mention of Kaoru.
Obviously, Matsumoto noted the change as well.
"Yes, yes. . ." he said mockingly, "Kaoru Kamiya is an ATTRACTIVE girl.
. .too bad I won't be there to see what my men will do to her. . ."
He laughed wickedly.
Both Kenshin and Misao's eyes met. They knew what had to be done. Matsumoto
watched Kenshin slip his Sakaba back into its saya. Battou Jutsu. .
Taking her cue from Kenshin, she jumped up into the air.
"Keccho GERI!!" Misao's foot planted directly into Matsumoto's
face. As she dropped to the ground, she took advantage of the closeness
to punch him in the groin. She was rewarded with a deep-gutted groan.
"HA!"
"Misao-dono!" Kenshin called her over. She ran toward Kenshin, moments
before their opponent recovered. "Are you okay, Misao-dono?"
"I'm fine, Himura, but you're not looking so great. . ." Misao commented
on the cuts and bruises on his face and arms. They both looked toward
Matsumoto when he began to yell.
"Are you trying to make a mockery of me, Battousai? Enough play. .
."
Kenshin pushed Misao behind him, urging her to go.
"Misao-dono, go to Tokyo and help Kaoru and the others. . "
"What about you --" she hesitated slightly, but Kenshin shook his
head.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. . .now GO!"
"OK!" she turned to run, wiping the wetness of the rain from her face.
She stopped a short distance away, only to see Matsumoto charge at Kenshin.
"Himura. . be careful. . ."
Where could they start? The tracks from earlier had long since disappeared.
Kaoru and Yahiko were moving in a direction directed only by instinct.
They had passed through the main street and to their surprise, all of
the shops were closed. Including the Akabeko.
"I can't believe this. . ." Yahiko commented.
They continued moving, until they heard the heavy footsteps of oncoming
men. The group was heading in the direction they came from. Quickly
ducking in an alleyway, they blended into the shadows, the only thing
glowing in the darkness were their eyes.
"Where are they going. . " Kaoru muttered, concern in her voice. Moments
later, what looked like a huge machine was being driven behind the men
by a foreign looking man.
"Kaoru, could that be the gun Hiroe--" he started, but Kaoru's nod
stopped him.
"That HAS to be it. Where the gun was--" Kaoru deduced, but Yahiko
finished her thought.
"Hiroe will be. . ."
Once the group of men had passed, Kaoru and Yahiko started running
in the direction they came from by following the tracks left by the
gun. The trail turned suddenly after several minutes of running, sending
them into a thick brush. Kaoru slowed to a crawl, looking down at the
ground. The two looked up and down, searching for the trail.
"It's gone. . ." she whispered.
"That's impossible!" Yahiko exclaimed, upset with the situation. "There
has to be a way!"
On their right, a huge rock formation menacingly glowered at them.
It cast a foreboding shadow over them both. Curious, Yahiko stared at
the rock intently, looking for some kind of clue to this mystery.
"Kaoru. . ." he called her over, pressing his hand to a lengthy fissure
in the rock. Its surface was smooth to the touch and slightly raised.
"Could this be a secret entrance or something?"
"Maybe. . ." she conceded, totally unsure of what this all meant. The
unseen engraving high above both Kaoru and Yahiko began to glow in the
light of the moon. "What's that up there?"
"Looks like some kind of jewel. . .maybe. . ." Kaoru grabbed Yahiko's
collar and lifted him with apparently no effort.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Kaoru?" his eyes looked daggers,
fuming from the ears.
"Hit that thing when I throw you. . .. .GO!" she commanded, jumping
as far as she could with the additional weight of them both, then propelled
him with both arms. Yahiko used the opportunity to get back at Kaoru.
In mid-air, he stepped on her head, using it for extra momentum. It
worked.
"YA-HI-KO!" she exclaimed, rubbing the top of her head. Her head turned
to see the piece of the rock retract, opening like a door. Kaoru looked
at Yahiko, nodding silently.
"Let's go!"
The two raced through the stone doors only to find an empty courtyard.
It seemed that all of the bad guys left already. Ahead of them were
two small houses, one with the door open. Kaoru and Yahiko looked at
each other after taking all of the bizarre scenery in.
"This is too easy," Yahiko commented. Kaoru had to agree. This WAS
too easy. Treading carefully toward the houses in front, they noted
a sleeping guard sitting in a chair at the doorway.
Before they could take another step, Kaoru felt a light tap on her
shoulder. Without thought, her head turned, only to feel the quick blow
from a huge creature that seemed to creep up on her.
"Heh," he snorted, his massive size overwhelming the two, "today must
be my lucky day. Three girls for the price of one!"
Three?, they thought. There was no time to think about numbers. They
had to take care of the behemoth.
"Well, your luck's run out, man!" Yahiko raced toward him, shinai drawn
to attack, but his hand merely patted him away, slapping his diminutive
frame to the dirt ground.
"Yahiko!" Behind Kaoru, she heard the approaching footsteps of at least
three more men. So much for it being a quiet rescue, she thought wryly.
She took several steps to the side to give her some room for movement.
Their accents were extremely thick, but she recognized it as German.
What were these Germans doing in Japan, especially with a huge gun like
the one they saw? Yahiko, pulling himself to his feet, wiped the dirt
from his cheek, shinai still in hand.
"Yahiko, are you alright?" she asked, concern tainting her voice.
Her face was stern, extremely concentrated on how to defeat these men.
For some reason, they were laughing at them, mocking their ability to
effectively attack them. "Mite ne, Yahiko! We can do this!" Kaoru gave
him a stern look to remind him of his Kasshin Ryu training. He nodded
in acknowledgment, knowing what had to be done.
Taking one at a time and remaining mindful of the third man, Kaoru
and Yahiko advanced strongly, employing not only Kasshin Ryu techniques,
but jiu-jitsu as well. They were big men, but they were very clumsy.
In a few minutes time, they knocked enough wind out of the two men to
lay them to the ground.
"How cute," the last man noted. He curled his fingers together, making
a disgusting noise because of the joint's cracking. "You knock out my
men? That's really cute. But what will you do with me?"
The man's eyes glanced to the space behind them. What was he looking
at? Kaoru didn't want to take her eyes off their enemy so she said,
"Yahiko, what's behind us?"
Yahiko turned his head to see the barrel of a gun cocked and ready
to fire at the large German man. Holding the gun was none other than
Hiroe.
"Hiroe! What are you doing with that gun?" he insisted fiercely, racing
to her side to inspect her status. "Are you alright?"
He could see her hand was shaking; her eyes were filled with tears
by what she had been brought to do. In some strange way, she didn't
even see Yahiko was there next to her.
"Where is he now?" she posed the question to the man. He remained silent
for a moment until she asked him a second time.
Kaoru took a few steps back before turning her head to see Hiroe. Poor
girl, she thought. Hasn't she been through enough already?
"Hiroe, are you sure you want to do that?" her soft voice asked. "If
you take his life, it defeats the purpose of all we're fighting for."
"Kaoru-san, I know that," she said plainly. "But I need to know where
the murderer of my family is. NOW!" Hiroe grasped the gun tighter, this
time holding it with both hands.
The German man chuckled at her quandary. "I don't really think you'll
shoot me-"
No sooner than the words left his mouth, a shot rang out in the still
air. Mouths fell open at what they thought Hiroe had done, but she lowered
her gun, shock gracing her face.
"Of course she won't shoot you," said a female voice from behind him.
His head turned, grasping his chest tightly as blood oozed from his
heart into his hands. "But I have no qualms in doing so."
Yahiko carefully took the gun from Hiroe, while both females stared
at the third approaching female.
"Mother?" Hiroe asked in disbelief, her voice shaking.
Without a word, her arms opened wide, Hiroe racing toward her mother
in joy. She was a striking woman, her daughter the spitting image of
her. However, anyone could plainly see the sadness and distress time
had imprinted on her face. "Oh, my Hiroe! I thought you were gone forever.
He said you were-" she started, but abruptly stopped at the thought
of her former lover. "You know the truth now, don't you?" She nodded,
confirming all of her thoughts.
Yahiko and Kaoru watched the two reunite from afar, but the greater
battle was at hand. Where was Matsumoto going with that gun? And what
was happening to Kenshin?
"Mother," Hiroe said softly, wiping tears from her eyes, "we have to
stop him. We can't let him destroy Tokyo."
She has grown so much stronger, her mother thought. Just like her father.
"No, we cannot. Perhaps your friends can help us . . ."
Making their introductions, Kaoru and Yahiko discovered her mother's
name to be, ironically, Kaoru. With a sudden instinct, they all looked
at the sky, which had fallen into a hue of blue-black.
"The fight at Tensho. . ." Kaoru shuddered at the thought. "Kenshin.
. ." Yahiko placed a hand on her arm in reassurance.
"Don't worry about Kenshin. He'll be just fine. You'll see. We need
to get back to the Dojo and find that gun first."
"Dojo?" inquired Kaoru Takano. "You wouldn't be talking about the
Kamiya Dojo?"
The three of them looked into Kaoru's eyes. She remembered what Matsumoto
had said before he left for Tensho.
"No one will have you, Kaoru. Ever. I go to finish everything that
he stole from me, by taking his precious Kamiya Dojo. . ."
Oh, no! So that's where he was going, they thought. It was only a matter
of time before they arrived with that huge gun at the house. Would Sanosuke
be able to fend them off until they arrived?
She had to get better. There was no question about it, because he couldn't
take sitting here any longer, being the weak link as he told Kenshin
so often. Sanosuke shook his head at his predicament. How much longer
would she be unconscious? Their baby. . . No, he couldn't afford to
think like that. He had to be strong for his Fox, strong for Hiroe,
strong for Jou-chan and all the others.
His eyes were focused intently on Megumi when he felt a disturbance
in the earth, a sudden shaking of the earth. It felt like something
extremely heavy was rolling in their general direction, like a boulder
falling from Fuji on to the Dojo. There couldn't be anything that big
in this area, could it?
"Sanosuke!" Dr. Genzai called out, rushing quickly into the room.
"There's something very large approaching the Dojo, Sano. I don't know
what it is, but I think we need to get out of here before they arrive."
Flames of disgust and hatred blazed in Sanosuke's eyes. He leaned over,
pressing a gentle kiss to Megumi's head before standing.
"Genzai-sensei, take Megumi-" he started to say, but stalled when
he heard a sigh creep through Megumi's lips."Megumi!"
"Sano. . .suke. . ." she muttered weakly. Her sly eyes peered open,
offering a view into the depths of her soul. She was in such pain, he
thought. "Go and fight. ."
Did he hear her correctly? Go and fight, she said. Even she knew it
wasn't like him to resist the urge for justice and vengeance, and in
this case, it was something that was awaiting each and every one of
those bastards that took liberties on their beloved home. He pressed
another kiss to her head.
"I'll help you take her out back," he directed to Genzai-sensei. "Then
I'm going back to fight."
Swiftly carrying Megumi's barely conscious body a safe distance from
the Dojo, Sanosuke stood, then shed his jacket, baring his muscular
chest to the world.
"I leave her in your hands," he said solemnly, and then with assured
steps, he walked through the Dojo once again to the front of the building,
awaiting the massive machine that approached.
Within moments, he could see the person manning the machine. It was
none other than the brute that hurt Megumi and stole away Hiroe. He
would pay dearly for what he had done, Sanosuke thought viciously. I'll
make him pay the most.
"Bring it on. . ." he muttered.
Orders were flying through the air, all directed toward Sanosuke's
fortified position.
"GET HIM!!" Heinemann shouted, pointing at the Dojo's porch. Ten able-bodied
men raced toward Sanosuke, but this time, he was prepared for the onslaught.
"Not this time!"
A fury unlike anything he'd felt in his body unleashed the torrent
of emotion inside him, with punches and kicks, uppercuts and knee-jabs.
Within moments, all ten men were clutching their bodies in pain.
"Get DOWN here and fight like a man," Sanosuke commanded, crooking
a finger at the armored Heinemann.
"I've got all the man I need right here!" he caressed the cold steel
of the gun. "You all, finish him off!"The remaining ten men were more
cautious, drawing swords to fight this time.
"Swords, huh?" he crooked his head, in the process, releasing tension
in his neck by cracking it."Your swords have NOTHING on Kenshin! HAAA!"
Fear was something completely unknown to Sanosuke in that moment as
he forged through the skilled swordsmen, his speed much faster than
normal. Saitou would be proud. While Sanosuke fought, a set of kunai
flew from the sky into the arms of two swordsmen.
"Weasel girl -" Sanosuke smiled, in that moment glad for the breather.
Eight of them backed off as Misao approached Sanosuke's position.
"How many times have I told you. . .don't call me a WEASEL!!" her face
crunched into that of a weasel, giving Sanosuke a moment to smile. But
it transformed yet again into a serious one when Heinemann changed the
position of the gun, its steel barrel pointing directly at the Dojo.
"I've got a job to do, boy! I don't have time to play with you and
your little weasel friend there-" Before Misao could get a comment out
about the weasel thing, Sanosuke spoke.
"You better watch yourself there. Nobody calls her weasel but US!"
The men advanced again, fighting resuming with ferocity. Yet another
voice called out into the night air.
"Sanosuke! Sanosuke!" All heads turned at the sound of Kaoru's voice.
Four individuals approached quickly, but before they could get there,
Heinemann's hand reached for the lever.
"Too late."
Hiroe's eyes saw what he was about to pull, fright pushing her to speed
ahead of the other three.
"NO!!!!" she shouted, just as the boom from the gun dropped them all
to the ground.
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